The microbiome and its effects on the immune system

The GvHD Hub was pleased to speak to Christine Spencer, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, San Francisco, US, and Diwakar Davar, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Pittsburgh, US, during the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Virtual Annual Meeting I.

In this animated video, Christine Spencer and Diwakar Davar describe the microbiome and its effects on the immune system. The pair begin by explaining the role of the microbiome, the concept of immunosurveillance, and how the composition of the intestinal microbiota could affect the response to cancer therapy. They describe the past and present research investigating how the microbiome can be altered to support the efficacy of immunotherapies, with a focus on checkpoint inhibitors. Finally, they discuss how the microbiome can reduce immune reactions, such as graft-versus-host disease, and immunotherapy-related toxicities.